Pam Swakarsa -- solution or new problem?<\/p>\n
Panca Nugraha, The Jakarta Post, Mataram<\/p>\n
Initially meant to ensure law and order in West Nusa Tenggara
\n(NTB) province, civilian security task forces, known locally as
\nPam Swakarsa, have instead instilled deep-seated resentment and
\nterror, while sparking episodes of violence among local community
\nmembers.<\/p>\n
Since Pam Swakarsa was first established in 1998, its numbers
\nhave gradually swelled -- in part by absorbing dozens of people
\nfrom similar groups.<\/p>\n
At the same time, their existence has claimed lives of several
\ninnocent people.<\/p>\n
The latest such victim was H. Abdul Hamid, a resident of
\nBilelando village in Praya subdistrict, Central Lombok.<\/p>\n
He was found dead at his home on Dec. 23, after being brutally
\nattacked by militiamen from different Pam Swakarsa sub-groups.<\/p>\n
Hamid was accused of having kidnapped Habib, a member of Pam
\nSwakarsa that had attacked his group.<\/p>\n
The accusation later proved baseless, however, when Habib was
\nfound in a detention cell of the East Lombok district police
\nbuilding after being arrested on charges of vehicle theft.<\/p>\n
Following Hamid's killing, local police deployed some 250
\nsecurity personnel to restore order to his village. Police then
\nrelocated Habib to a cell in the NTB capital city of Mataram to
\navert a possible revenge attack.<\/p>\n
This was only the latest incident in a wave of violence in the
\nprovince linked to the notorious Pam Swakarsa gangs that have
\nused vigilante justice as a means of dealing with suspected
\ncriminals or their opponents.<\/p>\n
Most such terror incidents take place in Lombok district.<\/p>\n
NTB Police chief Brig. Gen. Iman Hariyatna has admitted that
\nthe brutal behavior of Pam Swakarsa has frequently shocked and
\nalarmed local people, who now fear for their own safety.<\/p>\n
\"On the one hand, they do help police in their efforts at
\nmaintaining security -- but on the other, their conduct has
\nmostly frightened people,\" he said recently.<\/p>\n
The Pam Swakarsa was to keep order by civilians in the face of
\nthe country's transitional period.<\/p>\n
\"Almost every village has its own Pam Swakarsa. Villagers once
\ncould feel more secure with such a civilian group around because
\nthe conditions at that time were so volatile,\" Lalu Djunaedi,
\nspokesman for the provincial administration, said.<\/p>\n
The exact number of these groups is unclear. But provincial
\npolice officials have said at least 13 major groups have been
\nregistered in the Lombok and Sumbawa districts.<\/p>\n
All are affiliated to sizable social and religious
\norganizations in their immediate areas.<\/p>\n
The joint secretariat of Pam Swakarsa said it has recorded at
\nleast 26 active groups, but added that many others were not
\nlisted.<\/p>\n
The majority of well-known groups include Pam Swakarsa Ababil
\nand Amphibi -- both of which have more than 10 units of
\noperational vehicles used for patrol, not unlike the police.<\/p>\n
Dressed in military-like uniforms, they are also equipped with
\nsophisticated communication tools, such as walkie-talkies.<\/p>\n
In Mataram alone, there are at least six civilian security
\ngroups that have dozens of posts in the city's intersections.
\nHaving suspended activities for the last six months, they are now
\nback in office.<\/p>\n
As time progresses, the growth of the Pam Swakarsa groups has
\nbegun to have negative impacts on local residents.<\/p>\n
The names of some of their members have often associated with
\ncriminal cases concerning, among other things, heritage and land
\ndisputes, as well as debt collection.<\/p>\n
They rarely hesitate to attack or kill anyone who they believe
\n-- rightly or wrongly -- is a thief, or any other type of
\ncriminal.<\/p>\n
\"People or Pam Swakarsa have the right to arrest the criminal,
\nbut they must hand them over to police for the legal process to
\ncontinue,\" Hariyatna said.<\/p>\n
They have also, more than once, clashed with police over
\ncriminal suspects who were in the custody of law enforcement
\nofficials.<\/p>\n
However, the provincial police often seemed powerless in
\nconfronting the militias. Hariyatna instead said the police would
\ncontinue to treat them as partners rather than criminals.<\/p>\n
Social and political scientist Zainal Asikin of the NTB-based
\nMataram University said the very presence of Pan Swakarsa
\nindicates popular distrust toward local security forces.<\/p>\n
\"The groups were set up because security conditions were no
\nlonger guaranteed with robberies, thefts and other types of
\ncrimes taking place everywhere,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Asikin added that the emergence of Pam Swakarsa in 1998 was
\nthe first establishment of a militia in Lombok since 1986. That
\nrevival was not so problematic, however.<\/p>\n
He played down the social problems caused by the Pam Swakarsa,
\narguing that there are no single large organizations that have no
\nnegative impacts on their communities.<\/p>\n
Such negative fallout is simply part of the lack of basic
\ntraining and judgment on the part of some Pam Swakarsa members --
\nall the more reason why the authorities should educate and train
\nthem, Asikin said.<\/p>\n
\"Such ignorance is still normal, as 90 percent of the Pam
\nSwakarsa members are farmers and informal workers with low-level
\neducational backgrounds,\" he noted.<\/p>",
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